Exclusive | yonkers hs basketball coach ousted after antisemitic incident at game says he was ‘scapegoat’

Nypost

Exclusive | yonkers hs basketball coach ousted after antisemitic incident at game says he was ‘scapegoat’"


Play all audios:

Loading...

EXPLORE MORE The ousted coach of a Yonkers high school girls basketball team said school officials made him a scapegoat when they fired him after some of his players allegedly yelled


antisemitic slurs at a visiting team from a Jewish school. Former Roosevelt High School coach Bryan Williams of New Rochelle told The Post he did an “excellent job with those girls” during


his three-year tenure with the team. But he was canned Sunday after last week’s game against the Leffell School, a private Jewish school in Hartsdale, which took an ugly turn when some of


his players allegedly tossed antisemitic slurs at their opponents — including one who allegedly said, “I support Hamas, you f–king Jew.” That was news to Williams, who said he did not hear


anyone jawing at each other or making threats. “I personally did not hear any of it on the court,” Williams told The Post. “I do not condone what was allegedly done … I do not condone that.


I focus on my team and what we have to try to do to win and be successful.” The coach also said he felt the Yonkers school district — which announced Sunday it had fired him and booted one


of his players off the team — “treated me very unfairly.” “They needed a scapegoat, and I was it,” he said. “They needed a fall guy.” The Jan. 4 game ended early after the antisemitic slurs,


and security guards had to escort the Leffell School players off the court after what the players described as an increasingly hostile contest. The Yonkers kids played rough, and throughout


the contest they yelled “Free Palestine” or other anti-Jewish statements, senior player Robin Bosworth wrote in an op-ed for the Lion’s Roar, Leffell’s student-run newspaper. Eventually,


the Leffell players walked off during a timeout as the coaches spoke with each other, then the refs. Eventually, they canceled the game, and Roosevelt agreed to forfeit. On Sunday, Yonkers


Public Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Luis Rodriguez and city Mayor Mike Spano issued a joint statement denouncing the hatred and apologizing for the vitriol the visiting team faced.


“Collectively, we do not and will not tolerate hate speech of any kind from our students and community,” the statement said. “The antisemitic rhetoric reportedly made against the student


athletes of The Leffell School are abhorrent, inappropriate and not in line with the values we set forth for our young people.” But Williams says the game didn’t happen like that. He said


his kids played the game the proper way, which included tough defense. “We were just playing basketball,” said Williams, who is also the CEO, founder and program director of Hoopers NY, an


“elite girls national travel basketball program,” according to its website. He also said he warned his kids to “act appropriately,” since they’d be playing against a Jewish team. “I told


them that — everyone,” he said. When he found out that the Leffell school kids were accusing his team of being racist, he told his girls to apologize for whatever they said, immediately. But


they didn’t get the chance because the game ended abruptly. He added that he doesn’t believe Yonkers did the investigation properly, and he wished he got to finish out the season with his


team. Especially because some are seniors, and he’s worked with them for several years. “I can’t say who did what,” Williams said. “All I was focused on was my team and how we’re playing,


what we need to do to be successful and win.” “We were winning by a lot, so I was shocked because, again, I don’t think my girls would do that.”


Trending News

Jonathan majors’ former girlfriend granted full temporary order of protection

by CEDRIC 'BIG CED' THORNTON April 28, 2023 ------------------------- In the latest development of the domesti...

United Network TV

United Network TV This site is no longer available here. If you have questions, please reach out to our support team by ...

Cathode region of a vapour arc

ABSTRACT THE total potential across a short arc discharge is normally a few tens of volts, and the cathode and anode fal...

Access Denied - Sucuri Website Firewall

Website FirewallBack to sucuri.netAccess Denied - Sucuri Website Firewall If you are the site owner (or you manage this ...

Aarp vital voices research, 2025-2027

AARP VITAL VOICES RESEARCH enables AARP state offices to gauge local opinions on a range of topics through regular surve...

Latests News

Exclusive | yonkers hs basketball coach ousted after antisemitic incident at game says he was ‘scapegoat’

EXPLORE MORE The ousted coach of a Yonkers high school girls basketball team said school officials made him a scapegoat ...

A new kind of car-t becomes a micro-pharmacy, eliminating glioblastoma in mice

In immunotherapy for cancer, the buzziest area of research is combinations: one checkpoint drug with another, say, or a ...

Bypass road song so gaya yeh jahan: neil nitin mukesh recreates father nitin mukesh's iconic track from tezaab

Check out Bypass Road song So Gaya Yeh Jahan&nbsp KEY HIGHLIGHTS * The first song from Bypass Road, So Gaya Yeh Jaha...

The page you were looking for doesn't exist.

You may have mistyped the address or the page may have moved.By proceeding, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and our ...

Cricket-hazlewood to return from injury for sri lanka series

Cricket-Hazlewood to return from injury for Sri Lanka series | WTVB | 1590 AM · 95.5 FM | The Voice of Branch County Clo...

Top